It may come as a surprise, but I am going to be switching over to Blogger.
At least a couple of my faithful followers may wonder why I, the Master of Static, would willingly change something. That is a good question! Xanga up until now gave me everything I needed, which, granted isn't much. Last night after I published my post about my lovely Trixie, I was scanning the published post to make sure there was no glaring errors. Then I noticed that the banner add on the side was a picture of two avatars breaking the Law of Chastity. I contemplated this for a second, and decided that that probably wasn't the genre of image I wanted to be associated with my weblog. So I'm jumping ship. Blogger will provide me with everything I need (i.e., it will put text on the screen) and will not have the lovely pictures that I cannot control to go with it. For your convenience, the address to the blog is almost exactly the same. The new address is savageboy05.blogspot.com. I have uploaded all of my old blog posts onto the new site (including this one in a few minutes) so that nothing is lost. I don't know if I'll keep the Xanga blog open or not, but I do know that I don't want the interesting pictures on the side on the one that I'm actually using.
We'll see you there!
[Author's Note: Putting in the link to the website that you are already on seemed a bit redundant to me, so I didn't bother. If that bothers you, I apologize...but not enough to put it in there.]
Showing posts with label Xanga days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xanga days. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
It's time to play the music, It's time to light the lights! [Wednesday, 24 March 2010]
I forgot to put this in that last post, but for those of you who are interested, my "homecoming" is going to be on May 30...two days after I get home. My bishop wastes no time!
I'm gonna be the man that's lonely without you... [Tuesday, 23 March 2010]
This weekend saw a near disaster strike one of my nearest and dearest friends. We've been together since high school, and we've never really been separated for too long. I feared for her life. It was quite frightening, and when we got her into someone who could look at her, the prognosis was bleak. They did everything they could....and she'll be just fine. My friend's name is Trixie, and she's a Ford Explorer.
Some people have said that my love for Trixie is a little strange, but then, when have I ever really been considered normal?
The drama unfolded like so: I was on my way to the grocery store when I got trapped behind a parking enforcement jeep. That particular part of West Temple is too narrow for me to pass, so I was idling. As I was sitting there, minding my own business, enjoying my time with Trixie, suddenly I heard a noise that sounded just like snow falling off a car. The problem? There wasn't a flake in sight. Thinking to myself that that probably wasn't a good sound to come from the front of my car, I put her into park and went to go investigate. Sitting right underneath the front of my car was a car part that had just fallen out of the bottom of Trixie. The parking enforcement officer and I agreed that that probably wasn't a good thing, and I quietly made a mental note that it would probably be a good thing to get to an auto-mechanic before going shopping. As I got into the car again and put it into drive, I made the lovely discovery that power steering was gone. A block later, I found that my battery life was dying, and a few blocks after that the engine began overheating. When I got there, I parked her and ran in with the part ready to explain what happened. The mechanic took one look at the part in my hand and confirmed that it wasn't good. The part in my hand was the belt regulator, which, as it turns out, is pretty important. He also said that there very well could be damage elsewhere in the engine since the part showed some extensive damage. He wouldn't be able to tell for certain until he got her into the shop. He was surprised that the engine hadn't overheated on the way, which would have been the final death stroke.
Major Motor Miracle Moment - Three blocks away, the engine temperature had approached maximum and the warning light came on. A block and a prayer later, the temperature dropped a few notches on the dial, despite the fact that the coolant system was gone. Coincidence? I think not! It's like in Legacy when the girl heals the ox by praying. Only in this case the ox was a Ford Explorer and a close personal friend of mine. And Trixie is also much cuter than the ox was. But it was still a miracle that affected transportation.
I waited in the car shop, sweating bullets. My father had told me that if the repairs were too expensive, he wouldn't pay for them and we would just junk Trixie. Just junk Trixie?! It was a shot through the heart, and he was to blame (he gave love a bad name). Luckily, the car-doc had come back, and the repairs, while not cheap, were cheap enough to convince my father to save her (thus restoring love's good name). It was an incredibly happy moment for me when Trixie came out of surgery three hours later. She drove like a dream, just as she had before her car-liver fell out. There was much rejoicing. And dancing. And later that night, feasting with my uncle and aunt (though that had been planned previous to the day's events). Needless to say, I am thankful that Trixie pulled through, and I hope that she can be with me for many more memories.
P.S. - Some have inquired for an Elder Oaks Update (EOU). After my last post, his assignment changed from Family History to...something else. I'm not sure anyone told me that part. Regardless, he also dropped out of the temple devotional tomorrow. That can mean two things:
1) Elder Oaks was never really stalking me and the whole affair was in my mind.
2) Elder Oaks realized that I was on to him and is trying to through me off the trail by pretending that he was never really stalking me and that the whole affair was in my mind.
I think that it is the second option only because that is the option that makes more sense. More EOUs as they happen.
Some people have said that my love for Trixie is a little strange, but then, when have I ever really been considered normal?
The drama unfolded like so: I was on my way to the grocery store when I got trapped behind a parking enforcement jeep. That particular part of West Temple is too narrow for me to pass, so I was idling. As I was sitting there, minding my own business, enjoying my time with Trixie, suddenly I heard a noise that sounded just like snow falling off a car. The problem? There wasn't a flake in sight. Thinking to myself that that probably wasn't a good sound to come from the front of my car, I put her into park and went to go investigate. Sitting right underneath the front of my car was a car part that had just fallen out of the bottom of Trixie. The parking enforcement officer and I agreed that that probably wasn't a good thing, and I quietly made a mental note that it would probably be a good thing to get to an auto-mechanic before going shopping. As I got into the car again and put it into drive, I made the lovely discovery that power steering was gone. A block later, I found that my battery life was dying, and a few blocks after that the engine began overheating. When I got there, I parked her and ran in with the part ready to explain what happened. The mechanic took one look at the part in my hand and confirmed that it wasn't good. The part in my hand was the belt regulator, which, as it turns out, is pretty important. He also said that there very well could be damage elsewhere in the engine since the part showed some extensive damage. He wouldn't be able to tell for certain until he got her into the shop. He was surprised that the engine hadn't overheated on the way, which would have been the final death stroke.
Major Motor Miracle Moment - Three blocks away, the engine temperature had approached maximum and the warning light came on. A block and a prayer later, the temperature dropped a few notches on the dial, despite the fact that the coolant system was gone. Coincidence? I think not! It's like in Legacy when the girl heals the ox by praying. Only in this case the ox was a Ford Explorer and a close personal friend of mine. And Trixie is also much cuter than the ox was. But it was still a miracle that affected transportation.
I waited in the car shop, sweating bullets. My father had told me that if the repairs were too expensive, he wouldn't pay for them and we would just junk Trixie. Just junk Trixie?! It was a shot through the heart, and he was to blame (he gave love a bad name). Luckily, the car-doc had come back, and the repairs, while not cheap, were cheap enough to convince my father to save her (thus restoring love's good name). It was an incredibly happy moment for me when Trixie came out of surgery three hours later. She drove like a dream, just as she had before her car-liver fell out. There was much rejoicing. And dancing. And later that night, feasting with my uncle and aunt (though that had been planned previous to the day's events). Needless to say, I am thankful that Trixie pulled through, and I hope that she can be with me for many more memories.
P.S. - Some have inquired for an Elder Oaks Update (EOU). After my last post, his assignment changed from Family History to...something else. I'm not sure anyone told me that part. Regardless, he also dropped out of the temple devotional tomorrow. That can mean two things:
1) Elder Oaks was never really stalking me and the whole affair was in my mind.
2) Elder Oaks realized that I was on to him and is trying to through me off the trail by pretending that he was never really stalking me and that the whole affair was in my mind.
I think that it is the second option only because that is the option that makes more sense. More EOUs as they happen.
Somehow I Know He's Always With Me... [Thursday, 11 February 2010]
The last little while has led to so many random and entertaining stories in my life that I can only hope that as I tell them that you, my faithful dozen readers, can keep up. After all, they are not in the least bit connected.
Random Entertaining Story (RES) #1 - Elder Oaks is Stalking Me
Once upon a time when Elder Dean and I were going to lunch, he had to stop and tie his shoes, so he just stuck his foot up on a concrete garden thing and began his work. I decided, as any red-blooded American in as gorgeous of an overcoat as mine would do, to use it as a tool to make a male-model pose. As I turned around to do so, I noticed a man walking in front of the JSMB towards Elder Dean and I (who were standing in front of the Church Administration Building). He seemed to look very familiar to me... and then it clicked. I decided against the pose. As soon as Elder Dean had finished tying his shoe, we resumed our walk towards State Street. I look at Elder Dean and said, "That's Elder Oaks behind us, isn't it." He glanced over his shoulder and confirmed that indeed, it was. As soon as Elder Oaks was safely inside the CAB, I told Elder Dean what I had nearly done. We both came to the very logical conclusion that Elder Oaks was secretly watching me, just waiting for me to do something stupid (like pull a pose on the street). The story would end there if not for the walk back. As we were coming back, I had the urge to skip (as I often do after eating a gloriously healthy lunch at McDonald's). Who should be standing in front of me? My mission president. Elder Dean and I are convinced that Elder Oaks knew what I was going to do ahead of time and sent my mission president to intercept me. Now whenever I pass the CAB, I look at it suspiciously as if expecting to see someone in one of the windows staring back at me. You just never know when Elder Oaks might be on to you!
If that isn't weird enough for you, Elder Oaks is speaking at our next temple devotional. Coincidence? I think not.
RES #2 - Earning A Discount
Once upon a time (last week), Elder Dean and I went to the food court for lunch. We often go to the food court for lunch...mostly because it beats the cafeteria food by a long shot and is the same price. We also always go to the same restaurants: I go to McDonald's, he goes to Great Steak. When I got up to order, the person at the register not only knew the order by heart (I get the same thing every time), but told me that because I go there so often and because more missionaries are starting to come with me, they were going to start giving a 10% missionary discount. I was very excited... my very own McDonald's discount! It's a dream come true!
RES #3 - Operation Perfect Conference Month 2
Once upon a time (yesterday and the day before), Elder Dean and I had those conference that I mentioned a post or two ago. You remember, the ones that have to be perfect or else? Still, we were prepared. We had asked everyone involved weeks in advance, we had made all of the AV arrangements, we had checked and double checked every detail, and now it was time to see what actually happened. His meeting, as always, came first, on Tuesday. Everything was set up properly. The only problem was that nobody came. A whole third of the Live-At-Home (LAH) missionaries did not or could not attend. One of those absent was the district leader who was supposed to give the opening prayer, so we were lucky enough to get to hear Elder Dean say a prayer (I was already playing the piano, so I was out). All in all though, his conference went off without a hitch and President Simmons gave him the "good conference" comment that let's us know that we get to live to see another month. Then it was my turn. Elder Dean was in a meeting, so I was on my own for set-up. I go down there an hour early (as per the notes on the infamous "pad of paper") and my heart almost stopped; none of the AV equipment we needed was set up while the rest of the room was. That means that the set-up people had already come and gone and there was nothing. I quickly ran back upstairs and spoke to the building reservation lady (a.k.a. Sister Bingham). She quickly got the AV department and got everything worked out just before people started coming in for the conference. As my heart resumed, I sat down wondering what the rest of the conference would be like. Surprisingly considering it's start, it was an amazing conference. Everyone but one missionary was there at one point or another. Elder Dean and I got to make it another month with a beautiful Martinelli's toast. Thank heavens for sparkling cider!
RES #4 - Crazy Tourists!
Once upon a time (last evening), I was working in the library. Sometimes in the evenings, especially on Wednesday, groups will come into the library. When they do, my good friend Elder Cowdell gives them a scavenger hunt to do that gets them acquainted with the library. He also traditionally gives them bonus questions. I traditionally give all of these questions away to any scavenging groups that I see. While I'm sitting at the desk down on B-1, a guy with a girl on either side comes up to the desk, shows me the scavenger hunt, and asks me a question or two. After I answer those, he asks me if I know Elder Cowdell. I acknowledged that I did and if he had any bonus questions that I could answer for him. The guy gets this sneaky look on his face, and says, "No....but do you know *********?" (To find out the question, bring a group to the library!) I smiled and answered the question. He suddenly smiled quite a large, triumphant smile and proclaimed, "HA! That really was the bonus question!" I simply smiled and said, "No kidding!" He then asked the #1 asked question to missionaries, which is of course, "So Elder, where are you from?" When I told him Twin Falls, he asked if I knew Amanda Yardley. Surprised, I said that I did and that we had gone to school together for quite some time. I suppose that she had worked a summer in the town he was from and he got to know her that way. Suddenly a sad look came upon his face and he asked if I had heard about a family tragedy. I said that I hadn't (though my mother later reminded me quite forcefully that she had told me, so for the official record, I simply had forgotten that I had been told), and he suggested that I write her a letter telling her that I was sorry. Said I, "I would love to write her a letter, but I don't have an address!" The girl standing on his left suddenly got very sad and asked, "Oh no...you're a missionary and can't get letters?" The three of us just looked at her for a second to see if she was kidding, and upon finding that she was indeed serious, I replied, "No....I mean that I don't have /her/ address." I've never seen a face go so red! Oh my goodness, she was embarrassed. She did recover enough to point out that at least that would've meant no Dear Johns...not that I've gotten any anyway!
Needless to say, this has been a great week for RESs. Not only did we get great stories, but we also got incredible amounts of work done! Does a week get much better for a missionary?
Random Entertaining Story (RES) #1 - Elder Oaks is Stalking Me
Once upon a time when Elder Dean and I were going to lunch, he had to stop and tie his shoes, so he just stuck his foot up on a concrete garden thing and began his work. I decided, as any red-blooded American in as gorgeous of an overcoat as mine would do, to use it as a tool to make a male-model pose. As I turned around to do so, I noticed a man walking in front of the JSMB towards Elder Dean and I (who were standing in front of the Church Administration Building). He seemed to look very familiar to me... and then it clicked. I decided against the pose. As soon as Elder Dean had finished tying his shoe, we resumed our walk towards State Street. I look at Elder Dean and said, "That's Elder Oaks behind us, isn't it." He glanced over his shoulder and confirmed that indeed, it was. As soon as Elder Oaks was safely inside the CAB, I told Elder Dean what I had nearly done. We both came to the very logical conclusion that Elder Oaks was secretly watching me, just waiting for me to do something stupid (like pull a pose on the street). The story would end there if not for the walk back. As we were coming back, I had the urge to skip (as I often do after eating a gloriously healthy lunch at McDonald's). Who should be standing in front of me? My mission president. Elder Dean and I are convinced that Elder Oaks knew what I was going to do ahead of time and sent my mission president to intercept me. Now whenever I pass the CAB, I look at it suspiciously as if expecting to see someone in one of the windows staring back at me. You just never know when Elder Oaks might be on to you!
If that isn't weird enough for you, Elder Oaks is speaking at our next temple devotional. Coincidence? I think not.
RES #2 - Earning A Discount
Once upon a time (last week), Elder Dean and I went to the food court for lunch. We often go to the food court for lunch...mostly because it beats the cafeteria food by a long shot and is the same price. We also always go to the same restaurants: I go to McDonald's, he goes to Great Steak. When I got up to order, the person at the register not only knew the order by heart (I get the same thing every time), but told me that because I go there so often and because more missionaries are starting to come with me, they were going to start giving a 10% missionary discount. I was very excited... my very own McDonald's discount! It's a dream come true!
RES #3 - Operation Perfect Conference Month 2
Once upon a time (yesterday and the day before), Elder Dean and I had those conference that I mentioned a post or two ago. You remember, the ones that have to be perfect or else? Still, we were prepared. We had asked everyone involved weeks in advance, we had made all of the AV arrangements, we had checked and double checked every detail, and now it was time to see what actually happened. His meeting, as always, came first, on Tuesday. Everything was set up properly. The only problem was that nobody came. A whole third of the Live-At-Home (LAH) missionaries did not or could not attend. One of those absent was the district leader who was supposed to give the opening prayer, so we were lucky enough to get to hear Elder Dean say a prayer (I was already playing the piano, so I was out). All in all though, his conference went off without a hitch and President Simmons gave him the "good conference" comment that let's us know that we get to live to see another month. Then it was my turn. Elder Dean was in a meeting, so I was on my own for set-up. I go down there an hour early (as per the notes on the infamous "pad of paper") and my heart almost stopped; none of the AV equipment we needed was set up while the rest of the room was. That means that the set-up people had already come and gone and there was nothing. I quickly ran back upstairs and spoke to the building reservation lady (a.k.a. Sister Bingham). She quickly got the AV department and got everything worked out just before people started coming in for the conference. As my heart resumed, I sat down wondering what the rest of the conference would be like. Surprisingly considering it's start, it was an amazing conference. Everyone but one missionary was there at one point or another. Elder Dean and I got to make it another month with a beautiful Martinelli's toast. Thank heavens for sparkling cider!
RES #4 - Crazy Tourists!
Once upon a time (last evening), I was working in the library. Sometimes in the evenings, especially on Wednesday, groups will come into the library. When they do, my good friend Elder Cowdell gives them a scavenger hunt to do that gets them acquainted with the library. He also traditionally gives them bonus questions. I traditionally give all of these questions away to any scavenging groups that I see. While I'm sitting at the desk down on B-1, a guy with a girl on either side comes up to the desk, shows me the scavenger hunt, and asks me a question or two. After I answer those, he asks me if I know Elder Cowdell. I acknowledged that I did and if he had any bonus questions that I could answer for him. The guy gets this sneaky look on his face, and says, "No....but do you know *********?" (To find out the question, bring a group to the library!) I smiled and answered the question. He suddenly smiled quite a large, triumphant smile and proclaimed, "HA! That really was the bonus question!" I simply smiled and said, "No kidding!" He then asked the #1 asked question to missionaries, which is of course, "So Elder, where are you from?" When I told him Twin Falls, he asked if I knew Amanda Yardley. Surprised, I said that I did and that we had gone to school together for quite some time. I suppose that she had worked a summer in the town he was from and he got to know her that way. Suddenly a sad look came upon his face and he asked if I had heard about a family tragedy. I said that I hadn't (though my mother later reminded me quite forcefully that she had told me, so for the official record, I simply had forgotten that I had been told), and he suggested that I write her a letter telling her that I was sorry. Said I, "I would love to write her a letter, but I don't have an address!" The girl standing on his left suddenly got very sad and asked, "Oh no...you're a missionary and can't get letters?" The three of us just looked at her for a second to see if she was kidding, and upon finding that she was indeed serious, I replied, "No....I mean that I don't have /her/ address." I've never seen a face go so red! Oh my goodness, she was embarrassed. She did recover enough to point out that at least that would've meant no Dear Johns...not that I've gotten any anyway!
Needless to say, this has been a great week for RESs. Not only did we get great stories, but we also got incredible amounts of work done! Does a week get much better for a missionary?
Another Day, Another Destiny [Tuesday, 12 January 2010]
It's been a few weeks, and, as usual, things have changed. At this point, I think that I would be concerned if things didn't drastically change at least once a month. Some of the things aren't worth mentioning here, but one is - new roommates!
Okay, so only two of the roommates changed, but that's okay. My roommate (referred to previously as Elder Gamma, I believe) and the missionary formally known as Elder Echo both moved out to different apartments. We got in two brand new elders who are both very nice and are far less annoying than the previous occupants.
That said, my new roommates have caused me to do much in the way of pondering. While they do have some social problems, those problems are minor. What was most startling to me was the fact that both of them, as well one of the elders that was already in my apartment when they moved in, are addicted to anime and manga. For those of you who don't know what those are (which is most of the "normal" people, whatever that means), they are PG-13(ish) Japanese cartoons and comic books, respectively. While they are not in and of themselves bad (usually), I have noticed a troubling trend related to them. It seems that those people who have intelligence but for whom social graces do not come naturally, the nerds of the world, are sitting and wasting time with these things until it consumes them. It's all they want to talk about. In several cases, it's all that they can talk about. This got me to thinking - many of the LDS youth who are into these things are not going to come to this mission; they are going to go out in the proselyting field. How ingenious is it for Satan to destroy their ability to socialize with normal people, even if only in part! I often wondered if some of these kids hadn't spend all night in front of a computer screen watching anime (as one missionary told me that he actually did) if they could have been able to serve regardless of handicap. It truly does sadden me to watch it happen.
However, not everything has been so deep and philosophical this past few weeks! In fact, some things have been downright nice. For example, this week Elder Dean and I were expected to put on conferences for the missionaries that we are over (his are the ones that live at home, while I am over the ones that live downtown in the missionary housing). The last conference we held was the second week of December and was Elder Dean's and my first. A couple things may have gone a little wrong, but it was far cry from a disaster. A few people who were supposed to bare testimony didn't show up, and the people praying were asked at the conference. For most meetings, this wouldn't have been a big deal. We could tell, however, that President Simmons was not pleased.
Later that day, after the conference had ended, Elder Dean ran away to work in his other area (smart man) while I stayed to finish a few things in the office. The next thing I knew, President Simmons was at the door to my cubical.
"Elder Savage, could I speak to you in my office for a moment?"
Although I had a great feeling of dread, I still put on a smile and went to stand up.
"And Elder Savage?...You're going to want to bring a pen and a pad of paper."
This is the point where I figured out that I was about to be filleted. Forty minutes and two pages of notes later, I finally emerged barely alive from his office after having received the most brutal delineation of expectations that I have ever received. In fact, when either Elder Dean or I am worried that we might be getting a "talking to" by president, we nicely remind the man going in to take his pen and pad of paper. Elder Dean got the same talk as I did, but since his got to be a day later, his was only the ten-minute highlight version. I was quite jealous.
This week we had our conferences again. Both of us knowing very well the expectation ("perfect," to use president's exact word choice), we prepared the entire conference 2-3 weeks ahead of time. Everything was set and prepared as best as we could get it. Then we prayed. A lot.
Yesterday, Elder Dean's conference for the Live at Home missionaries went off without a hitch, putting the pressure on for my much larger conference today. Despite one of the testimonies not showing up (despite my personally reminding them the previous week) and one cell phone going off, it was "perfect." After eating lunch with the other missionaries following the conference, Elder Dean and I went back to our cubical and enjoyed a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider in celebration of not needing to be "reinstructed" by the president.
I have to admit, I don't think that I've ever had better tasting sparkling cider!
Okay, so only two of the roommates changed, but that's okay. My roommate (referred to previously as Elder Gamma, I believe) and the missionary formally known as Elder Echo both moved out to different apartments. We got in two brand new elders who are both very nice and are far less annoying than the previous occupants.
That said, my new roommates have caused me to do much in the way of pondering. While they do have some social problems, those problems are minor. What was most startling to me was the fact that both of them, as well one of the elders that was already in my apartment when they moved in, are addicted to anime and manga. For those of you who don't know what those are (which is most of the "normal" people, whatever that means), they are PG-13(ish) Japanese cartoons and comic books, respectively. While they are not in and of themselves bad (usually), I have noticed a troubling trend related to them. It seems that those people who have intelligence but for whom social graces do not come naturally, the nerds of the world, are sitting and wasting time with these things until it consumes them. It's all they want to talk about. In several cases, it's all that they can talk about. This got me to thinking - many of the LDS youth who are into these things are not going to come to this mission; they are going to go out in the proselyting field. How ingenious is it for Satan to destroy their ability to socialize with normal people, even if only in part! I often wondered if some of these kids hadn't spend all night in front of a computer screen watching anime (as one missionary told me that he actually did) if they could have been able to serve regardless of handicap. It truly does sadden me to watch it happen.
However, not everything has been so deep and philosophical this past few weeks! In fact, some things have been downright nice. For example, this week Elder Dean and I were expected to put on conferences for the missionaries that we are over (his are the ones that live at home, while I am over the ones that live downtown in the missionary housing). The last conference we held was the second week of December and was Elder Dean's and my first. A couple things may have gone a little wrong, but it was far cry from a disaster. A few people who were supposed to bare testimony didn't show up, and the people praying were asked at the conference. For most meetings, this wouldn't have been a big deal. We could tell, however, that President Simmons was not pleased.
Later that day, after the conference had ended, Elder Dean ran away to work in his other area (smart man) while I stayed to finish a few things in the office. The next thing I knew, President Simmons was at the door to my cubical.
"Elder Savage, could I speak to you in my office for a moment?"
Although I had a great feeling of dread, I still put on a smile and went to stand up.
"And Elder Savage?...You're going to want to bring a pen and a pad of paper."
This is the point where I figured out that I was about to be filleted. Forty minutes and two pages of notes later, I finally emerged barely alive from his office after having received the most brutal delineation of expectations that I have ever received. In fact, when either Elder Dean or I am worried that we might be getting a "talking to" by president, we nicely remind the man going in to take his pen and pad of paper. Elder Dean got the same talk as I did, but since his got to be a day later, his was only the ten-minute highlight version. I was quite jealous.
This week we had our conferences again. Both of us knowing very well the expectation ("perfect," to use president's exact word choice), we prepared the entire conference 2-3 weeks ahead of time. Everything was set and prepared as best as we could get it. Then we prayed. A lot.
Yesterday, Elder Dean's conference for the Live at Home missionaries went off without a hitch, putting the pressure on for my much larger conference today. Despite one of the testimonies not showing up (despite my personally reminding them the previous week) and one cell phone going off, it was "perfect." After eating lunch with the other missionaries following the conference, Elder Dean and I went back to our cubical and enjoyed a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider in celebration of not needing to be "reinstructed" by the president.
I have to admit, I don't think that I've ever had better tasting sparkling cider!
Where Are We? What the Heck is Going On? [Saturday, 12 December 2009]
This has been a very hectic two weeks! Right after starting my new job as the assistant to the president, I and my comrade Elder Dean soon discovered that our predecessor really didn't do too much of his job. Elder Dean and I have been working our bottoms off trying to get everything caught up to where it is supposed to be. Now that everything is done that was supposed to be done a month ago, hopefully things will be a little bit lighter.
The big news items this time are the happenings of my apartment and those that in there dwell. Right now I live in a six-person apartment that has two non-autistic residents. I am one (believe it or not) and the other one is Elder Squire. Now Elder Squire is one of the coolest guys of all time. I love the guy to death. If we didn't have each other in that apartment, we'd both have gone mad by now. If you don't believe me, I'll give you a run-down of who it is with whom we are living. On the off-chance that more than the usual six people read this, the names have been changed to keep feelings from being hurt.
Elder Papa is a low-functioning autistic who can barely take care of himself. No one is quite sure how he managed to get here. This is his second month getting trained.
Elder Foxtrot has a violent streak a mile wide. After a discussion last night, he tried to dislocate my thumb to make a point. It wasn't until I reminded him that if he did that he would instantly get sent home that he let go. Reassuring, no?
Elder Echo is another autistic who is convinced that he is heaven's gift to mankind. He also has a strange fondness for Chuck Norris jokes and will tell them for hours on end if you allow him to (this has been tested and proven).
Elder Gamma is a lower-functioning autistic who really doesn't understand much of anything. He is trying hard, and I appreciate that, but I must admit that I do not appreciate his tendency to talk...a lot. As soon as I walk in the door, I am attacked. He follows me wherever I go and talks about the most random of things. His voice is the first thing that I hear when I wake up and the last thing I hear when I'm going to sleep. Isn't it wonderful?
My title this post is dedicated to Elder Squire. Whenever anything happens, almost anything at all, we begin to sing this song...with some editing, as you can see. The fact that we know the song by heart is sad. The fact that we are using to try and stay sane proves we may already be too late.
The big news items this time are the happenings of my apartment and those that in there dwell. Right now I live in a six-person apartment that has two non-autistic residents. I am one (believe it or not) and the other one is Elder Squire. Now Elder Squire is one of the coolest guys of all time. I love the guy to death. If we didn't have each other in that apartment, we'd both have gone mad by now. If you don't believe me, I'll give you a run-down of who it is with whom we are living. On the off-chance that more than the usual six people read this, the names have been changed to keep feelings from being hurt.
Elder Papa is a low-functioning autistic who can barely take care of himself. No one is quite sure how he managed to get here. This is his second month getting trained.
Elder Foxtrot has a violent streak a mile wide. After a discussion last night, he tried to dislocate my thumb to make a point. It wasn't until I reminded him that if he did that he would instantly get sent home that he let go. Reassuring, no?
Elder Echo is another autistic who is convinced that he is heaven's gift to mankind. He also has a strange fondness for Chuck Norris jokes and will tell them for hours on end if you allow him to (this has been tested and proven).
Elder Gamma is a lower-functioning autistic who really doesn't understand much of anything. He is trying hard, and I appreciate that, but I must admit that I do not appreciate his tendency to talk...a lot. As soon as I walk in the door, I am attacked. He follows me wherever I go and talks about the most random of things. His voice is the first thing that I hear when I wake up and the last thing I hear when I'm going to sleep. Isn't it wonderful?
My title this post is dedicated to Elder Squire. Whenever anything happens, almost anything at all, we begin to sing this song...with some editing, as you can see. The fact that we know the song by heart is sad. The fact that we are using to try and stay sane proves we may already be too late.
Bereite dich zu leben! [Monday, 23 November 2009]
Before my loyal fans get too angry, I waited this long to write another entry in this blog on purpose. A lot of changes have taken place in the last month, and I wanted them to all be finished before I told anyone the whole story. That way I could be absolutely certain that I wouldn't spill the beans on anything. I've found that if I tell stories any sooner, I have a nasty tendency to forget which parts I could and couldn't talk about. Curse my old age!
To understand the whole story, you need to know that this mission has changed a great deal since I first got here. When I first got here, we didn't have curfews or rules about computers or anything like that. For the first month or two of my mission, I was allowed to be on Facebook on the computer that I brought with me on the internet connection that I had in my apartment without anyone thinking anything of it. While those changed over time, I was still allowed to have a computer and the internet because I used them both for my work in the zone and form my calling. Another thing you need to know about is my calling history. Within a month of my arrival here on the mission, I was called to be the secretary in the elders quorum. A few months later, I was called as 2nd Counselor, and in December I was called as president. I've had that calling ever since. We were beginning to get so many elders, though, that it was getting to be very difficult to actually get to know everyone in the quorum with the amazingly busy schedule that missionaries keep. I felt that to best serve the needs of the elders, we needed to split the quorum. I spoke to the branch president, and he agreed. That conversation took place the first week of October, and we had spent the better part of that month trying to get it done.
The first week of this month turned a lot of things upside down for me. The hectic weekend started with a knock on the door. It was the couple over the young missionaries here on this mission. They told me that the mission president was revoking my exemption to the computer rule and that I needed to send my laptop home. I, while slightly confused, simply told them, "Okay." When they had left, I shut the door and sat down. While the work I was doing for my mission assignment on the computer had for the most part dried up, I was still using it constantly for my calling. My confusion didn't last long, as thirty seconds later I got a phone call. It was the branch president telling me that they were finally going to be able to split the quorum and that they were looking at splitting it on the 22nd, but that after discussing it with the mission and stake presidents, it was time for me to be released. This came as a bit of a shock. I had been in that presidency since almost the moment I got here. I figured that there must have been a good reason for my dismissal if all the leaders agreed on it, so I decided to just take it in stride and just finish out working as hard as I was first put in.
The following Monday, I went to a devotional at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. After the devotional, the mission president, President Simmons, called me into his office for a quick interview. There he assigned me to be the new assistant to the president (AP). In a lot of missions, that means a lot. Here, however, it hasn't meant a great deal of anything. Up until now, it has basically turned you into an extra secretary. That is not the vision that President has, though. He is going to turn the AP position into something that it has never been before. While he wasn't sure what exactly he was going to have us be doing more than our predecessor Elder Bergmark, he simply knew that it would be more.
That was a few weeks ago. Yesterday they split the quorum. I am in the First Quorum of Elders with the presidency being made up of, in order, Elders Cowdell, Squire, and Shipton. The presidency of the second quorum consists of Elders McMurtry, Cox, and Uta'i. Today was my first day training with the other new AP (Elder Dean) over in the mission office. I figure that there isn't really much else to give away at this point!
One other exciting thing happened this weekend. Last Saturday was the O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert. Being the classical music lover that I am, this is probably my favorite concert of the year. I like it even more than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. For those of you who have never heard of the O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert, it is a performance put on by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Utah Symphony, and almost always some guest performers. This time, it happened to be in the Tabernacle. The two guest soloists were a soprano and a mezzo-soprano that were very nice (and that of course about ten people have heard of). The guest of honor this time was really former Utah Symphony conductor Keith Lockhart. The man truly is a master artist. I was very lucky to get a ticket this time (I intercepted a senior missionary on her way to give it to someone else), and I am so glad that I went! They put on a performance of Mahler's 2nd Symphony "Resurrection" that was so good, it almost made me weep. I'd never heard the piece before, but it is now one of my all-time favorites. I recommend it to everyone. The title of this post comes from the lyrics of the fifth movement and means "Prepare yourself to live." After that performance, I think that I might have to do just that!
To understand the whole story, you need to know that this mission has changed a great deal since I first got here. When I first got here, we didn't have curfews or rules about computers or anything like that. For the first month or two of my mission, I was allowed to be on Facebook on the computer that I brought with me on the internet connection that I had in my apartment without anyone thinking anything of it. While those changed over time, I was still allowed to have a computer and the internet because I used them both for my work in the zone and form my calling. Another thing you need to know about is my calling history. Within a month of my arrival here on the mission, I was called to be the secretary in the elders quorum. A few months later, I was called as 2nd Counselor, and in December I was called as president. I've had that calling ever since. We were beginning to get so many elders, though, that it was getting to be very difficult to actually get to know everyone in the quorum with the amazingly busy schedule that missionaries keep. I felt that to best serve the needs of the elders, we needed to split the quorum. I spoke to the branch president, and he agreed. That conversation took place the first week of October, and we had spent the better part of that month trying to get it done.
The first week of this month turned a lot of things upside down for me. The hectic weekend started with a knock on the door. It was the couple over the young missionaries here on this mission. They told me that the mission president was revoking my exemption to the computer rule and that I needed to send my laptop home. I, while slightly confused, simply told them, "Okay." When they had left, I shut the door and sat down. While the work I was doing for my mission assignment on the computer had for the most part dried up, I was still using it constantly for my calling. My confusion didn't last long, as thirty seconds later I got a phone call. It was the branch president telling me that they were finally going to be able to split the quorum and that they were looking at splitting it on the 22nd, but that after discussing it with the mission and stake presidents, it was time for me to be released. This came as a bit of a shock. I had been in that presidency since almost the moment I got here. I figured that there must have been a good reason for my dismissal if all the leaders agreed on it, so I decided to just take it in stride and just finish out working as hard as I was first put in.
The following Monday, I went to a devotional at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. After the devotional, the mission president, President Simmons, called me into his office for a quick interview. There he assigned me to be the new assistant to the president (AP). In a lot of missions, that means a lot. Here, however, it hasn't meant a great deal of anything. Up until now, it has basically turned you into an extra secretary. That is not the vision that President has, though. He is going to turn the AP position into something that it has never been before. While he wasn't sure what exactly he was going to have us be doing more than our predecessor Elder Bergmark, he simply knew that it would be more.
That was a few weeks ago. Yesterday they split the quorum. I am in the First Quorum of Elders with the presidency being made up of, in order, Elders Cowdell, Squire, and Shipton. The presidency of the second quorum consists of Elders McMurtry, Cox, and Uta'i. Today was my first day training with the other new AP (Elder Dean) over in the mission office. I figure that there isn't really much else to give away at this point!
One other exciting thing happened this weekend. Last Saturday was the O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert. Being the classical music lover that I am, this is probably my favorite concert of the year. I like it even more than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. For those of you who have never heard of the O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert, it is a performance put on by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Utah Symphony, and almost always some guest performers. This time, it happened to be in the Tabernacle. The two guest soloists were a soprano and a mezzo-soprano that were very nice (and that of course about ten people have heard of). The guest of honor this time was really former Utah Symphony conductor Keith Lockhart. The man truly is a master artist. I was very lucky to get a ticket this time (I intercepted a senior missionary on her way to give it to someone else), and I am so glad that I went! They put on a performance of Mahler's 2nd Symphony "Resurrection" that was so good, it almost made me weep. I'd never heard the piece before, but it is now one of my all-time favorites. I recommend it to everyone. The title of this post comes from the lyrics of the fifth movement and means "Prepare yourself to live." After that performance, I think that I might have to do just that!
Confusion Never Stops, Closing Walls and Ticking Clocks [Friday, 06 November 2009]
Once again, I quote an amazing song in the title. The song is one of my all-time favorites. Bonus points to those who find it!
Right now, our floor of the library is having minor rearrangements done...which have been going on since last September. It's been amazing. Small walls around study areas have gone down, bookshelves have left, tables have gone up, and many months go by in between each little spurt of progress. One recent comic side effect of the work was the electronic signal that connects the Church Office Building (COB) to the Family History Library (FHL) and the Church History Museum (CHM) and ensures that all of the clocks are on the correct time was disrupted. For days the clocks were off. Some missionary with a sense of humor (not me this time) had posted a sign on one of the clocks that said, "Not Even Close." I personally got a real kick out of it. Unfortunately, everyone else was extremely irked by the off clocks. Yesterday the people in the COB fixed the problem, ending many sleepless nights for many people.
Today has been interesting in and of itself. In a great move of love and compassion for her fellow men, a senior sister missionary went off on an anti-Muslim diatribe today. She walked up to me while I was on the desk and asked what I was doing. I told her that I was reading the news. Evidently this was not the answer I needed to give to keep the conversation short. This triggered in her mind the news she had watched last night about the tragedy at Fort Hood (in case you don't know what happened, click here). She then told me of her theories of how the Muslims are taking over the world and how they are all evil and all trying to kill us. Now, there are many things wrong with this:
1) She's a missionary who is supposed to love others.
2) She's a missionary who is currently working on the floor where the Muslims go for their genealogy help.
3) She's a missionary who was giving her hate-speech at the front desk in the patron area.
3) I'm a missionary who really didn't want to listen to it.
Being afraid that arguing would only prolong the tirade, I did my usual grunt-&-nod routine (I've become very good at this) and when she finished, I went back and spoke to the zone leaders about my concerns. They will take care of it, I have no doubt.
In happier news, my family will be coming down today! Nothing like a little family lovin' to get a man back into the serving spirit! That, and the food is great. Ever since my dating and drumming lives came to a halt, food has taken on a whole new level of awesome for me. Whatever works!
Here's hoping I can sneak out of the library to get said food without triggering another conspiracy theory...
Right now, our floor of the library is having minor rearrangements done...which have been going on since last September. It's been amazing. Small walls around study areas have gone down, bookshelves have left, tables have gone up, and many months go by in between each little spurt of progress. One recent comic side effect of the work was the electronic signal that connects the Church Office Building (COB) to the Family History Library (FHL) and the Church History Museum (CHM) and ensures that all of the clocks are on the correct time was disrupted. For days the clocks were off. Some missionary with a sense of humor (not me this time) had posted a sign on one of the clocks that said, "Not Even Close." I personally got a real kick out of it. Unfortunately, everyone else was extremely irked by the off clocks. Yesterday the people in the COB fixed the problem, ending many sleepless nights for many people.
Today has been interesting in and of itself. In a great move of love and compassion for her fellow men, a senior sister missionary went off on an anti-Muslim diatribe today. She walked up to me while I was on the desk and asked what I was doing. I told her that I was reading the news. Evidently this was not the answer I needed to give to keep the conversation short. This triggered in her mind the news she had watched last night about the tragedy at Fort Hood (in case you don't know what happened, click here). She then told me of her theories of how the Muslims are taking over the world and how they are all evil and all trying to kill us. Now, there are many things wrong with this:
1) She's a missionary who is supposed to love others.
2) She's a missionary who is currently working on the floor where the Muslims go for their genealogy help.
3) She's a missionary who was giving her hate-speech at the front desk in the patron area.
3) I'm a missionary who really didn't want to listen to it.
Being afraid that arguing would only prolong the tirade, I did my usual grunt-&-nod routine (I've become very good at this) and when she finished, I went back and spoke to the zone leaders about my concerns. They will take care of it, I have no doubt.
In happier news, my family will be coming down today! Nothing like a little family lovin' to get a man back into the serving spirit! That, and the food is great. Ever since my dating and drumming lives came to a halt, food has taken on a whole new level of awesome for me. Whatever works!
Here's hoping I can sneak out of the library to get said food without triggering another conspiracy theory...
And the work goes on... [Friday, 04 September 2009]
Fifteen months out now, and what a ride it's been.
Of course, the last two months have felt as long as the previous thirteen combined. That doesn't help too much.
Things have been changing almost faster than I can keep up with. We got a new mission president at the beginning of July and he hit the ground running. The person over the young missionaries on this mission (a.k.a. the babysitter) also changed. This leadership has a very different, much more hands-on approach to running things. The schedule of meetings doubled, expectations rose, and the rules were revised. The new rules should be coming out any day now, so we'll see just what they have in store.
Another one of the changes that have been happening is that apartment moves are becoming a lot more prevalent. In the last month, the make-up of my apartment has changed three times. For those of you who are wondering, this does not make for a good time. Especially when one of the moves brought in one of the most annoying human beings on the face of the Earth. He grates me the wrong way more than any other person that I have ever met before. More than any of the autistic elders I have dealt with, this boy is my ultimate trial. If he lives, we shall all know I passed the test. If he doesn't, it wasn't me.
On Monday, I had a "fun" experience with a patron. This particular patron is friends with anautistic elder who tells him a lot of the things about the mission and how it works. I emphasize autistic because this is not really the best place to come upon your sole source of information on a subject. Autistic kids have a different view of reality. I figured this out somewhere between being told by one that he was a member of the SWAT team in high school working undercover to bust an illegal street racing ring and another one telling me that he had eighteen girlfriends (all his age, he clarified, just in case anyone was wondering). This patron has not learned this lesson. He went on to tell me (I being the elders quorum president) that I needed to call a third counselor and that it needed to be the AP. He also elaborated on how he felt that almost all of the elders were failing in their missions and even named one lower-functioning autistic as a "lost cause" because he has a tendency to be in his own little world. Heaven knows that autistics never do this (sarcasm). To top everything off, he was nice enough to tell me that the former AP (a good friend of mine) was a failure at his position...which he wasn't, FYI. Because he was a patron, I had to treat him with respect. This limited my responses to unintelligible grunts and nods.
[[Author's Note: This entry was supposed to be much longer; however, I never actually bothered to finish writing it. I was just going to erase it (having long forgotten where I was going with it), but I love the title so much that I decided to just publish it in it's half-completed form. For those of you who are wondering, the title is a play off of a song that while originally performed by Sonny and Cher was really perfected by Buddy Rich and his band. For those of you who are wondering who Buddy Rich is, he quite possibly may be the best drummer of all time and worked with some of the biggest names on the jazz scene before starting his own band. His version of the "The Beat Goes On" is much better than the original in my completely unbiased opinion. I hope that this half-post is not too much of an inconvenience!]]
Of course, the last two months have felt as long as the previous thirteen combined. That doesn't help too much.
Things have been changing almost faster than I can keep up with. We got a new mission president at the beginning of July and he hit the ground running. The person over the young missionaries on this mission (a.k.a. the babysitter) also changed. This leadership has a very different, much more hands-on approach to running things. The schedule of meetings doubled, expectations rose, and the rules were revised. The new rules should be coming out any day now, so we'll see just what they have in store.
Another one of the changes that have been happening is that apartment moves are becoming a lot more prevalent. In the last month, the make-up of my apartment has changed three times. For those of you who are wondering, this does not make for a good time. Especially when one of the moves brought in one of the most annoying human beings on the face of the Earth. He grates me the wrong way more than any other person that I have ever met before. More than any of the autistic elders I have dealt with, this boy is my ultimate trial. If he lives, we shall all know I passed the test. If he doesn't, it wasn't me.
On Monday, I had a "fun" experience with a patron. This particular patron is friends with anautistic elder who tells him a lot of the things about the mission and how it works. I emphasize autistic because this is not really the best place to come upon your sole source of information on a subject. Autistic kids have a different view of reality. I figured this out somewhere between being told by one that he was a member of the SWAT team in high school working undercover to bust an illegal street racing ring and another one telling me that he had eighteen girlfriends (all his age, he clarified, just in case anyone was wondering). This patron has not learned this lesson. He went on to tell me (I being the elders quorum president) that I needed to call a third counselor and that it needed to be the AP. He also elaborated on how he felt that almost all of the elders were failing in their missions and even named one lower-functioning autistic as a "lost cause" because he has a tendency to be in his own little world. Heaven knows that autistics never do this (sarcasm). To top everything off, he was nice enough to tell me that the former AP (a good friend of mine) was a failure at his position...which he wasn't, FYI. Because he was a patron, I had to treat him with respect. This limited my responses to unintelligible grunts and nods.
[[Author's Note: This entry was supposed to be much longer; however, I never actually bothered to finish writing it. I was just going to erase it (having long forgotten where I was going with it), but I love the title so much that I decided to just publish it in it's half-completed form. For those of you who are wondering, the title is a play off of a song that while originally performed by Sonny and Cher was really perfected by Buddy Rich and his band. For those of you who are wondering who Buddy Rich is, he quite possibly may be the best drummer of all time and worked with some of the biggest names on the jazz scene before starting his own band. His version of the "The Beat Goes On" is much better than the original in my completely unbiased opinion. I hope that this half-post is not too much of an inconvenience!]]
One Year Later [Friday, 05 June 2009]
Last Tuesday was my one-year mark. I am now halfway through my mission. Who knew that I would make it this long? Things were tough at times, but I managed to survive. I saw the wife of my first zone leader on that day, and she told me that I seemed a lot more mature than the kid who first came in. While I'm not sure how mature I am (or ever will be, for that matter), I do feel like I've grown a bit.
Many people told me that the two years would just fly by and I would wonder where they went. Whether or not I agree with those people really depends on the month. Some months come and go in the blink of an eye, while other months seem to be years in and of themselves. Who knows what the next year will hold?
On Tuesday, I decided that I should do something special to mark the occasion. I dragged Elder Cowdell along to a restaurant in the Gateway called The Counter. I highly recommend it! It's a burger place, but there you get to build your own hamburger from the bun up, choosing the kind of meat, the cheese, the toppings, and so on. My favorite part are their sweet potato fries. They are to die for! We greatly enjoyed our dinner. When we were ready for the check, the waitress revealed that the meal had been covered by the men at the next table. We were amazed by this, especially considering just 20 minutes earlier I had given a stirring rendition of Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" along with the radio. We deduced that they must have offered to pay for us prior to this. It was either that or they were tone deaf, and we didn't want to insult our benefactors. We thanked them profusely as we left.
In other news, I found out this week that I'll be back in the training zone for another two weeks...what joy. I'll be appreciating any and all prayers that the next person I train will be easier than the last one!
I have also started a family history research blog for my Gilbertson ancestors. You can find it here. It's a fun little blog that I think approximately five people in the world will read, but hopefully someone finds it interesting! My goal is to get blogs started for all of the major lines that I work with before I leave the mission.
I hope that everyone out there is doing well! Happy June!
One more blessing... [Thursday, 21 May 2009]
Before I tell you all what just happened, I just thought I'd let you know that this week has been amazing. I've exploded genealogically speaking and I've gotten a wonderful amount of letters and packages. What happened tonight takes the cake.
I was a bit discouraged today with my genealogy. Nothing I tried seemed to be working, and the world seemed to be mocking me. I had just done one of many futile searches for Gustav Auring (Google Books, as a matter of fact), when I felt inspired to do the same search with John Gilbertson. When I did, I got a few that were quite obviously not who I was looking for. Then, in the middle of the list, was a book entitled JACOB PERKINS OF WELLS, MAINE AND HIS DESCENDANTS 1583-1936. You will not know the connection between these two names, but I happen to know that John Gilbertson's wife was named Abigail Perkins and that she was from Maine. This instantly grabbed my attention, needless to say. I wasn't able to look at a preview of the book on Google Books, so I quickly looked through the Family History Library catalog to see if we had the book here in the library. We did. Upon looking through the book (thank heavens for indexes!), I found the family I was looking for. Sure enough, there were the Gilbertsons, and Abigail's ancestry was traced back to 1583 in England. How marvelous a find this was! I am so grateful that God inspired me to try just one more search before I closed up shop tonight! I am now going to order this book on the internet so that I can have a personal copy to work from. My great week continues!
I was a bit discouraged today with my genealogy. Nothing I tried seemed to be working, and the world seemed to be mocking me. I had just done one of many futile searches for Gustav Auring (Google Books, as a matter of fact), when I felt inspired to do the same search with John Gilbertson. When I did, I got a few that were quite obviously not who I was looking for. Then, in the middle of the list, was a book entitled JACOB PERKINS OF WELLS, MAINE AND HIS DESCENDANTS 1583-1936. You will not know the connection between these two names, but I happen to know that John Gilbertson's wife was named Abigail Perkins and that she was from Maine. This instantly grabbed my attention, needless to say. I wasn't able to look at a preview of the book on Google Books, so I quickly looked through the Family History Library catalog to see if we had the book here in the library. We did. Upon looking through the book (thank heavens for indexes!), I found the family I was looking for. Sure enough, there were the Gilbertsons, and Abigail's ancestry was traced back to 1583 in England. How marvelous a find this was! I am so grateful that God inspired me to try just one more search before I closed up shop tonight! I am now going to order this book on the internet so that I can have a personal copy to work from. My great week continues!
The Lord blessed me by... [Wednesday, 20 May 2009]
1) ...giving me good friends. This last Saturday, Ryan and Annika Jensen, the newlyweds who I'm sure have plenty of other things that needed to be done, stopped by and took me out to dinner. The food was amazing, but it didn't compare to the company! I'm still disappointed that I wasn't able to go to their wedding, but at least I got to see them soon afterwards. I really appreciated them taking time out of their schedules for a bite to eat. It really made my day!
2)...giving me good family. Sunday, I get a call form my uncle who lives in Arizona letting me know that he and my aunt were in town and wanted to see me. I grabbed a companion and went right over to the Plaza Hotel where they were staying. We spoke for a few hours. It was great to see them, and we had a good time. Then on Monday, I got back to my apartment for lunch (which I can do now that I'm back in the library, thank heavens) and sitting outside of my door is a box from my mother full of goodies for me. I greatly enjoyed it and quickly put it into use. What would we do without family?
3)...giving me a great ward. I got a call at about 9:05 tonight from Elder Morrow (who is a missionary here from my homeward in Twin Falls) letting me know that his sister would soon be here with another care package from the ward. I went out and came back with a sack full of assorted edible goodies! I am very excited to partake of the healthy delectables, to be sure.
Needless to say, the last few days more than makes up for the past two weeks. Sure, not everything has gone my way (I'm working a one-hour longer shift and on three times as many Saturdays from now on, for instance), but those things that went "wrong" weren't anything more than slight inconveniences that will be easily worked around with minor tweaks in eating and shopping schedules. All in all, I've been left in awe of my many blessings these past few days. My many thanks go out to all of you who participated in making this week awesome, even if all you did was post a comment on a blog. That still lets me know that you care! Love and hugs to everyone!!!
2)...giving me good family. Sunday, I get a call form my uncle who lives in Arizona letting me know that he and my aunt were in town and wanted to see me. I grabbed a companion and went right over to the Plaza Hotel where they were staying. We spoke for a few hours. It was great to see them, and we had a good time. Then on Monday, I got back to my apartment for lunch (which I can do now that I'm back in the library, thank heavens) and sitting outside of my door is a box from my mother full of goodies for me. I greatly enjoyed it and quickly put it into use. What would we do without family?
3)...giving me a great ward. I got a call at about 9:05 tonight from Elder Morrow (who is a missionary here from my homeward in Twin Falls) letting me know that his sister would soon be here with another care package from the ward. I went out and came back with a sack full of assorted edible goodies! I am very excited to partake of the healthy delectables, to be sure.
Needless to say, the last few days more than makes up for the past two weeks. Sure, not everything has gone my way (I'm working a one-hour longer shift and on three times as many Saturdays from now on, for instance), but those things that went "wrong" weren't anything more than slight inconveniences that will be easily worked around with minor tweaks in eating and shopping schedules. All in all, I've been left in awe of my many blessings these past few days. My many thanks go out to all of you who participated in making this week awesome, even if all you did was post a comment on a blog. That still lets me know that you care! Love and hugs to everyone!!!
Sweet Relief! [Saturday, 16 May 2009]
The past two weeks have been one gigantic test of my patience. You see, I've spent them training a new missionary in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB). You may say that training sounds like it would be fun. I know that's what I thought at first. When I started on my first day, however, I came to find just how "fun" it was really going to be. I was assigned to train a senior gentleman who, no matter how hard I tried, I simply could not convince that floppy disks and WordPerfect 4.2 was outdated. It all went downhill from there. The main problem was that he couldn't remember what he was taught from one day to the next very well without referring to his copious notes diligently recorded on his laptop in (you guessed it) WordPerfect. Then to make matters all the more fun, since the JSMB is much farther from my apartment then the Family History Library is, I was trapped eating lunch in their cafeteria. This can get a bit bland when you can't eat anything but a soup or salad. This past Thursday was my last day. There was much rejoicing and/or dancing.
A little earlier on in the week (Tuesday, I believe it was), I was offered a ticket to the Utah Opera's performance of Don Pasquale (for a synopsis, click here). I asked Elder Clasen, the senior missionary in charge of us younglings, if I could go. He said that I would be able to as long as I was back before 9:30. It's an opera... that started at 7. There was no way that I was going to be able to get back before 9:30, so I gave the ticket back. Then on Thursday, Elder Clasen walks up and asks me what I did with the ticket, and I told him that I gave it back. With a flourish, he pulled from his suit coat two tickets to the opera for me and another elder and told us to get back as soon as it was over, even if we were late. I don't know why there was a change of heart, but it didn't hurt my feelings at all, I'll tell you that! It was my first opera, and I absolutely loved it. What a wonderful way to end a very long few weeks!
A little earlier on in the week (Tuesday, I believe it was), I was offered a ticket to the Utah Opera's performance of Don Pasquale (for a synopsis, click here). I asked Elder Clasen, the senior missionary in charge of us younglings, if I could go. He said that I would be able to as long as I was back before 9:30. It's an opera... that started at 7. There was no way that I was going to be able to get back before 9:30, so I gave the ticket back. Then on Thursday, Elder Clasen walks up and asks me what I did with the ticket, and I told him that I gave it back. With a flourish, he pulled from his suit coat two tickets to the opera for me and another elder and told us to get back as soon as it was over, even if we were late. I don't know why there was a change of heart, but it didn't hurt my feelings at all, I'll tell you that! It was my first opera, and I absolutely loved it. What a wonderful way to end a very long few weeks!
The Joys of the Weekend [Tuesday, 21 April 2009]
Every so often when the opportunity arises, my Uncle Aaron and Aunt Shanna will abduct me for a night. I bring a companion along, we go out to eat, and then we go to the symphony. This past Friday was especially choice for multiple reasons:
Reason #1) Before the concert, the four of us went to a place called The Counter to eat. If you've never eaten there, I pity you. You build your own custom hamburgers, selecting the size, buns, cheese, sauces, and toppings. And the fries are to die for. They quite possibly may be some of the best French fries ever. This meal was a great way to start the evening.
Reason #2) The concert itself was amazing. Truly, it was a privilege to be there. Here is the link for an article on the performance: Wilkins, Parker 'Rach' the House It should be known that Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto is quite possibly my favorite piece of all time. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus, there were some good encores!
Reason #3) I spent the night with my uncle and aunt. This means earlier to bed, comfier mattress, and more time to sleep. Oh, it was wonderful.
Reason #4) Breakfast was had at a restaurant called the Dodo. Yes, I know that food takes up two reason, but the food was just that good! The sausage was gigantic and delicious, and the hashbrowns also hit the spot. I love food!
All in all, the weekend was scrumtrulescent. Hopefully there are many more similar in my future! Yay food!
Reason #1) Before the concert, the four of us went to a place called The Counter to eat. If you've never eaten there, I pity you. You build your own custom hamburgers, selecting the size, buns, cheese, sauces, and toppings. And the fries are to die for. They quite possibly may be some of the best French fries ever. This meal was a great way to start the evening.
Reason #2) The concert itself was amazing. Truly, it was a privilege to be there. Here is the link for an article on the performance: Wilkins, Parker 'Rach' the House It should be known that Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto is quite possibly my favorite piece of all time. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus, there were some good encores!
Reason #3) I spent the night with my uncle and aunt. This means earlier to bed, comfier mattress, and more time to sleep. Oh, it was wonderful.
Reason #4) Breakfast was had at a restaurant called the Dodo. Yes, I know that food takes up two reason, but the food was just that good! The sausage was gigantic and delicious, and the hashbrowns also hit the spot. I love food!
All in all, the weekend was scrumtrulescent. Hopefully there are many more similar in my future! Yay food!
[Author's Note: The link to the article spoken of in the post is no longer available for free viewing and as such as been removed. I apologize for any inconvenience.]
More Perks! [Thursday, 02 April 2009]
Every Tuesday after I get off of work at four I head over to the temple to assist in the baptistry. Almost all of the temple workers there know me by now. You might say that this is my way of getting 'baptisms'. If it is, I get about 20-100 baptisms per week, depending on how busy it is and how many people come in without an endowed priesthood holder. Funny enough, that's not the perk I'm talking about (even though it totally rocks). The perk that came to mind was getting to play with the stamp.
That's right - the stamp. You see, I've gone there so much that they don't care if I help to scan and stamp the temple cards. This is strangely exciting like you wouldn't believe! I mean, you wouldn't think that there would be much joy in sticking a card under a scanner and waiting for the ding... but you'd be wrong! It's pretty much amazing. And the only think better than the scanning job is the stamping job. There is something about stamping something that is so satisfying. It makes you feel all tingly. Especially when you know that not only are you getting to stamp something but you're also helping somebody receive the ordinances necessary for his/her exaltation. That's a double bonus if you ask me.
That's right - the stamp. You see, I've gone there so much that they don't care if I help to scan and stamp the temple cards. This is strangely exciting like you wouldn't believe! I mean, you wouldn't think that there would be much joy in sticking a card under a scanner and waiting for the ding... but you'd be wrong! It's pretty much amazing. And the only think better than the scanning job is the stamping job. There is something about stamping something that is so satisfying. It makes you feel all tingly. Especially when you know that not only are you getting to stamp something but you're also helping somebody receive the ordinances necessary for his/her exaltation. That's a double bonus if you ask me.
Yay Perks! [Sunday, 29 March 2009]
No matter how much I may whine about some of the things that go on here, there are definitely some perks to this mission that you simply can't get anywhere else. For example, I met Dallin H. Oaks on Wednesday and had a nice conversation with L. Tom Perry on Friday. How many of my proselyting brethren get so many chances to meet GAs? None that I know of. My Daddy can attest to this. I was giving him a brief tour of what we were seeing on the way to lunch the last time he was down here when who did we see but Presidents Eyring and Uchtdorf. He was pretty excited. I give great tours, needless to say.
As far as other exciting things currently going on in my life, Thursday night I went to a concert put on by the Orchestra at Temple Square. It was quite nice. They debuted a modern piece about the Holocaust called Black Flowers. I liked it, but I'm not sure that the audience was quite right for this number. Did I mention that it was modern? The rhythms were very edgy and there were parts with a lot of dissonance. A great number for a venue filled with concert lovers, like New York or LA or Boston. But SLC? The people behind me said it best when they (who were dressed in a casual T-shirt and blue jeans - a concert no-no in and of itself) said, "This is kinda weird". I'm not sure that they understood it. But the price of the concert simply couldn't be beat! Each ticket cost a wopping $0. They also played Barber's Adagio for strings (a personal favorite) and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. I love concerts on temple square. Chalk up one more perk for this mission. Yay perks!
As far as other exciting things currently going on in my life, Thursday night I went to a concert put on by the Orchestra at Temple Square. It was quite nice. They debuted a modern piece about the Holocaust called Black Flowers. I liked it, but I'm not sure that the audience was quite right for this number. Did I mention that it was modern? The rhythms were very edgy and there were parts with a lot of dissonance. A great number for a venue filled with concert lovers, like New York or LA or Boston. But SLC? The people behind me said it best when they (who were dressed in a casual T-shirt and blue jeans - a concert no-no in and of itself) said, "This is kinda weird". I'm not sure that they understood it. But the price of the concert simply couldn't be beat! Each ticket cost a wopping $0. They also played Barber's Adagio for strings (a personal favorite) and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. I love concerts on temple square. Chalk up one more perk for this mission. Yay perks!
Turning over a new leaf...maybe [Thursday, 26 March 2009]
Yesterday was a very slow day in the library. I spent a lot of it in quiet contemplation, organizing a netvibes page with various links to genealogy blogs (and the blogs of my peeps), when something occurred to me - I have a lot more time type at a computer than I do to keep a journal. Why not consistently keep a blog? I figure that that way, should I miss something in my journal, at least it'll be somewhere! So with any luck, more posts will be popping up here more often.
Yesterday, while slow in the library, was anything but as soon as my "work day" ended. One Wednesday a month, our mission has a temple devotional where someone, often a GA, speaks to the missionaries in our mission in the temple (just in case the name didn't give that away). The speaker this last time just happened to be Dallin H. Oaks, who took the time to meet every missionary personally. This is a very generous quest when you consider that the missionaries had completely filled the chapel in the Salt Lake Temple. I'm surprised that the poor man's hand hadn't fallen off from all of the shaking! Still, I got to meet him, and I was very excited.
So for those of you, my loyal fans (all half dozen or so), who really want to know what's going on in my life, and for that AP who keeps harassing me over my terrible journal writing, I'm going to turn over a new leaf and actually keep this updated...hopefully.
The Gay Conspiracy and Operation Waltzing Matilda [Saturday, 28 June 2008]
What I am about to tell you people cannot be repeated. It has been deemed Top Secret by the Society of Wise Elders Emanating Terrificness (SWEET). The only reason I am putting it here is that I think a grand total of three people (all Humistons) even know that this blog exists. And I happen to know for a fact that all three Humistons will get a great big kick out of this story. And, like most stories in this mission, it started with an old lady.
Another elder and I were walking to choir one morning (it's starts at 6:15...groan) when this elderly sister yells for us to wait. Apparently her husband doesn't want her walking over to choir by herself because Salt Lake isn't the safe place that it used to be. This especially applies to the neighborhood right near Temple Square, evidently. I gave a mildly interested "oh really?". She told me that it was true, and went on to explain how it was the fault of the gays. That's right, she blamed it on the gays. She explained this to me the entire ten minute walk how those blasted gays were ruining the town. In fact, she made it sound like the gays were forming together in some sort of conspiracy to overthrow everything good in this world. I found this on one level shallow and uncaring, but on another level I found it absolutely hilarious how the gays could manage to get blamed for everything. Naturally, I had to bring this up at lunch. After explaining what had happened to the other elders, Elder Hone pointed out that the lady seemed to know too much about this Gay Conspiracy. It was quickly decided that the lady was not in fact an old lady at all, but a member of the Gay Conspiracy (GC) dressed up as an elderly sister missionary in an attempt to infiltrate Temple Square. A devious plot indeed.
The plot seemed to thicken when on a tour of the library it was discovered that one part of the B1 floor was the only part of the library that was separate from the rest of the library, meaning it had no floors above or below it. Common sense dictated that this was a former hideout of the GC. We also found evidence in this formerly-sinister place. In one corner was a black mannequin. Well, it was sort of a mannequin. It's in a humanoid shape, but it's not the kind of thing that you see in store windows. It is shaped like a women, and was probably used by the GC to hang up their women costumes from when they were trying to infiltrate Church HQ. We were almost certain that it had to be abandoned during their rapid pull-out when the Church took over the hideout. After a few weeks, we decided to start Operation Waltzing Matilda. In Waltzing Matilda, the mannequin-thing, codenamed "Matilda", would be moved randomly from floor to floor a few times a week and put in the supply rooms. We will continue to move Matilda until our last day at work (June 2, 2010) when, if Waltzing Matilda has not been undone, we will be taking Matilda out to lunch. We will probably go to the ZCMI food court, or the closest thing to that after they finish the new mall down here. Truly it will be an amazing experience.
I hope that everything is going well for all of you guys, and remember to watch your backs; the GC is everywhere.
Another elder and I were walking to choir one morning (it's starts at 6:15...groan) when this elderly sister yells for us to wait. Apparently her husband doesn't want her walking over to choir by herself because Salt Lake isn't the safe place that it used to be. This especially applies to the neighborhood right near Temple Square, evidently. I gave a mildly interested "oh really?". She told me that it was true, and went on to explain how it was the fault of the gays. That's right, she blamed it on the gays. She explained this to me the entire ten minute walk how those blasted gays were ruining the town. In fact, she made it sound like the gays were forming together in some sort of conspiracy to overthrow everything good in this world. I found this on one level shallow and uncaring, but on another level I found it absolutely hilarious how the gays could manage to get blamed for everything. Naturally, I had to bring this up at lunch. After explaining what had happened to the other elders, Elder Hone pointed out that the lady seemed to know too much about this Gay Conspiracy. It was quickly decided that the lady was not in fact an old lady at all, but a member of the Gay Conspiracy (GC) dressed up as an elderly sister missionary in an attempt to infiltrate Temple Square. A devious plot indeed.
The plot seemed to thicken when on a tour of the library it was discovered that one part of the B1 floor was the only part of the library that was separate from the rest of the library, meaning it had no floors above or below it. Common sense dictated that this was a former hideout of the GC. We also found evidence in this formerly-sinister place. In one corner was a black mannequin. Well, it was sort of a mannequin. It's in a humanoid shape, but it's not the kind of thing that you see in store windows. It is shaped like a women, and was probably used by the GC to hang up their women costumes from when they were trying to infiltrate Church HQ. We were almost certain that it had to be abandoned during their rapid pull-out when the Church took over the hideout. After a few weeks, we decided to start Operation Waltzing Matilda. In Waltzing Matilda, the mannequin-thing, codenamed "Matilda", would be moved randomly from floor to floor a few times a week and put in the supply rooms. We will continue to move Matilda until our last day at work (June 2, 2010) when, if Waltzing Matilda has not been undone, we will be taking Matilda out to lunch. We will probably go to the ZCMI food court, or the closest thing to that after they finish the new mall down here. Truly it will be an amazing experience.
I hope that everything is going well for all of you guys, and remember to watch your backs; the GC is everywhere.
Boredom... [Wednesday, 23 April 2008]
I'm actually writing a blog entry...if that doesn't say how bored I currently am, nothing else will. Right now I'm working on my final project for my Engineering Graphics class. It's big. So big, in fact, that the program freezes for minutes at a time whenever I do anything. Heck, I'm pretty confident that it freezes when I think about doing something. This causes me to have a lot of down time in between actions. What to do with that down time? I don't know. I don't really have enough time to get into anything, and no one is here or online who wants to talk to me during my many, many breaks. For a man with fidgety-drummer syndrome, this is not good news; nae, it's anti-good. I don't do well with free time. At least not when I'm on campus. I could be sleeping right now! But alas, it is not to be! Should I not make it out of this project alive, I bequeath my stuff in Twin Falls to my family. My stuff in Logan, however, is to be given to Annika and Sara, but mostly Annika because she gave me flowers. They were cute flowers that now grace my window sill with their beauty. They totally made my day, so now she gets the goods. Sorry, Sara. If you wanted my library of books and movies, perhaps you should have also given me an Earth Day present. Sorry!
[Saturday, 22 March 2008]
I'm fairly certain that I will never actually use this, but if you guys have a serious need for amusement, leave me a comment asking for a funny story or something. I'm always willing to please a fan. :)
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